Regional Vitals

Pittsburgh is a great place to do business.

From a low cost of operations to access to top talent from world-class universities, the region is home to several internationally renowned corporations, a vibrant technology startup community and a diverse range of economic development organizations. Check out these key regional vitals to learn more about Pittsburgh and its potential as a strategic business location.

PITTSBURGH BY THE NUMBERS

Pittsburgh'S Ecosystem

How does our region stack up against other entrepreneurial ecosystems? We know its a great place to start a business for many reasons, but we want to make it an entrepreneurial powerhouse! Here's how we rank according to the Kauffman Index:

This year, FortyX80 and the Pittsburgh Technology Council published a report overviewing the amount of venture capital the region’s technology community attracted.

This year’s report offers data over a three-year period (2012 – 2014), and includes the companies invested in, as well as the firms that invested capital. Venture activity is broken down into five industry segments – Business and Financial Services, Healthcare, Consumer Goods and Services, Information Technology, and Industrial Goods and Materials.

REGIONAL VENTURE CAPITAL OVERVIEW

Aspirational Cities Benchmarking Report

As one of several mid-sized Midwestern U.S. cities with a growing tech industry, Pittsburgh compares favorably to regions of similar size in the amount of venture capital attracted.

However on a national scale, Pittsburgh’s deal flow lags behind many of the major centers of technology innovation like Austin and Denver. FortyX80 aims to move the region closer to the standard set by Austin and Denver.

State of the Industry

Dig into this data furnished by the Pittsburgh Technology Council to learn more about the industry verticals that comprise southwestern Pennsylvania’s technology industry.

The most recent State of the Industry Report compares three years of data for each of six main verticals through 2013, the last year for which data is available. Verticals overviewed include information technology, life sciences, advanced manufacturing, advanced materials, environmental technology and energy technology.

University Research and Development

Without our region’s world-class universities, Pittsburgh wouldn’t be what it is today.

A look at the R&D expenditures of universities within southwestern Pennsylvania provides a baseline for understanding the fuel that drives innovation and new technology commercialization. Additionally, the amount of science and engineering graduate students enrolled at regional universities reflect the health of these institutions and provide a leading indicator of future technology development in the region and technology-focused talent resources available in and around Pittsburgh.

Tech transfer from the universities is another essential component in creating new companies and commercializing technologies being developed through university-based research and development.

PITTSBURGH’S CREATIVE CLUSTERS

It’s no secret that Pittsburgh’s creative economy is rich with potential. In 2014, the Pittsburgh Technology Council and Carnegie Mellon University set out to discover the realities of the region’s creative assets, and what it takes do to elevate them to the next level.

Partnering with the University of Toronto’s Martin Prosperity Group and Echo Strategies, world-wide leaders in creative economy research, the PTC launched an in-depth study of regional companies, organizations and individuals who are contributing to the region’s creative growth and innovation.

When Pittsburgh was ranked 40th out of 40 in the Kauffman Foundation's 2015 rankings for Startup Activity, we invited Yas Motoyama, the foundation's Director of Research and Policy, to speak with leaders and entrepreneurs in the tech community.

Motoyama discussed how the ranking was calculated, the most-common myths about growing a startup community, and actionable priorities to strengthen our entrepreneurial ecosystem. In our blog recapping the event, we discussed our biggest takeaways for what organizations and entrepreneurs can do to further help Pittsburgh's scene flourish.